Atari Announces Plans to Launch Own Cryptocurrency

Atari has announced a partnership with Infinity Networks Ltd., with a view to developing a digital platform. This platform will be underpinned by the Atari token, and there is now the expectation that Atari will release details of an upcoming ICO to support this new development.

Frederic Chesnais, CEO of Atari, SA, said [translated from French]:

Blockchain technology is poised to take a very important place in our environment and transform, if not revolutionize, the current economic ecosystem, especially in the areas of the video game industry and online transactions. Given our technological strengths in terms of the development studios and the global reputation of the Atari brand, we have the opportunity to position ourselves very strongly within this sector. Our objective is to take strategic positions with a limited cash risk, in order to optimize assets, and the Atari brand.

More Irons in the Fire

But the announcements don’t stop there. They have also announced plans to further digitize their online casino gaming system in a partnership with Pariplay, which may involve the creation of a second token on a separate blockchain. The aim would be to open up the opportunity of gambling with cryptocurrencies, which represents a further step forward from the gaming giant, most famous for its domination of the 80s video game market.

The announcements have had a predictable effect on the stock price of Atari, which has seen an enormous jump in the last 24 hours. Whether this will hold for any length of time remains to be seen, but it is certainly exciting times for Atari this month.